Welcome Back Kaye George!

It’s great to have prolific writer, Kaye George, back here with the Wickeds. She’s here with her brand, spanking new Vintage Sweets series. Revenge is Sweet is the first book in the series. Here’s a bit about the book:

In the picturesque tourist town of Fredericksburg, Texas, Tally Holt has opened a new candy store with a vintage twist . . .but there’s no sugar-coating a nasty case of murder . . .Tally Holt has poured her heart, soul, and bank account into Tally’s Olde Tyme Sweets, specializing in her grandmother’s delicious recipes. Tally’s homemade Mallomars, Twinkies, fudges, and taffy are a hit with visiting tourists—and with Yolanda Bella, the flamboyant owner of Bella’s Baskets next door. But both shops encounter a sour surprise when local handyman Gene Faust is found dead in Tally’s kitchen, stabbed with Yolanda’s scissors.The mayor’s adopted son, Gene was a handsome Casanova with a bad habit of borrowing money from the women he wooed. It’s a sticky situation for Yolanda, who was one of his marks. There are plenty of other likely culprits among Fredericksburg’s female population, and even among Gene’s family. But unless Tally can figure out who finally had their fill of Gene’s sweet-talking ways, Yolanda—and both their fledgling businesses—may be destined for a bitter end . . .

Kaye: Happy St. Paddy’s Day to you all! Hope you’re well supplied with beer and corned beef and cabbage, if you like those things. And now, a quick switch from Irish to German~~~

I picked Fredericksburg TX as the setting for my new cozy Vintage Sweets series. I’ve been asked why I chose it, since I don’t live there and don’t know anyone who does. So I’d better tell you why I have a strong connection to that town.

Quite a few years ago, when I lived in Texas with my husband and all our children had flown the coop, it was the custom for them to all come to our house on Thanksgiving one year, Christmas the next. We alternated with the in-laws and that worked out well. We usually made plans to join one if the kids’ families close to the other holiday. One year, it worked out that everyone was busy, flying hither and yon for Thanksgiving, and my husband and I were going to be on our own.

We had always enjoyed driving around and exploring parts of Texas. The Painted Churches, for example. The brewery tour in Shiner, for another example. For that year, we settled on a tour of Wine Country, also known as Hill Country. Texas, due to its size, has four to seven distinct geologic regions, depending on how you view it: Big Bend Country, Gulf Coast. Panhandle Plains, Piney Woods, Prairies and Lakes, South Texas Plains, and Hill Country.

Austin, where we lived (Taylor, very near Austin, but you’ve never heard of Taylor if you don’t live around there), is at the edge of Hill Country, and the Wine portion of it wasn’t very far. If you google “Texas wine country” Fredericksburg pops up at the top, I just discovered.

I found a B&B online and booked it. It turned out to be delightful. It was called Camp David Bed & Breakfast, but is now closed, so you’ll have to find your own if you go. We tootled around from winery to winery, holding back in the tasting rooms so we could drive! After a couple of days, we decided to stay in town and walked Main Street, loving the shops and the German restaurants. We went back a couple more times, but not for extended stays.

When I was casting about for a setting for this series, I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather use. Luckily, my agent, who was helping me put the proposal together had actually been there (from New Jersey!) and agreed with the setting.

I only hope I’ve done it justice in the series. I didn’t tell you about a park outside town that we also loved, because it’s in the climax of REVENGE IS SWEET and I don’t want to spoil that!

Readers: Have you ever fallen in love with a town, or a place? Does a location hold a special place in your heart, like this town does for me?

Bio:Kaye George is a national-bestselling, multiple-award-winning mystery author. Her short stories are online, in publications, and her own anthology, DAY OF THE DARK. She belongs to Sisters in Crime, Smoking Guns and Guppies chapters, Authors Guild of TN, Knoxville Writers Group, and Austin Mystery Writers. She lives in Knoxville, TN.

Kaye George, National Best-selling & Agatha-nominated mystery author~~
REVENGE IS SWEET, 1st in new series~~
NEW short story anthology! Mid-Century Murder~~http://kayegeorge.com/~~
NEW short story anthology! Mid-Century Murder~~http://kayegeorge.com/~~
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22 Thoughts

Welcome back, Kaye, and congratulations! Your book is at the top of my Kindle TBR and I can’t wait to read it. I love that picture of the town. Is the heat pretty brutal in the summer or do the hills moderate it?

Years ago, we fell in love with this quaint little tourist town in the Ozark Mountains. It was famous for music everywhere – on the courthouse square, in a pickin’ park and theaters as well as on just about every corner. The moment you got there you were made to feel like home folks being welcomed back home. The crime rate is almost null. After years of going there when we needed to unwind, relax and to remember what was important, we decided that was where we wanted to spend our remaining years. So we sold out, downsized and moved to our dream destination building the smaller home we had always dreamed about. BEST decision ever and we are having the time of our senior lives!

I love the premise of your new series! Congratulations. I fell in love day by day with the area of Massachusetts the Air Force sent us to. I didn’t want to move there — not at all. But it was charming and I met so many wonderful people there including all of the Wickeds.

Thank you! I get you–I don’t think I’d want to live in F’burg. All those tourists! It’s a good place for my character Tally, though. She seems to like it there. We don’t always get to pick where we live, do we?

Welcome back, Kaye! I LOVE that cover. We have been doing the every-other-holiday thing for decades, the program instituted by my mother and passed down through generations now. I have enjoyed the adventures Bill and I have had on our “off” holidays.

All the best with the new release, Kaye, can’t wait to dig my teeth in and I’m craving mallomars right this second. Holding you responsible. 🙂

Towns? Oh, I’ve fallen in love with several and there is one on my bucket list to fall in love with. I’d say Fort Kent, ME is my favorite, especially at Christmas time. It’s a small town on the Canadian border, residents are of Acadian descent, it’s close knit and loving. At Christmas, they hold what’s called a DIckens of a Christmas and many shopkeepers and some residents dress for the occasion. Caroling on the streets is common.

The town on my bucket list? Helen, Ga – a Bavarian town built in the South.

When I was still traveling, there were so many wonderful places. Fredericksburg was one of those. San Diego, Santa Barbara, Bar Harbor, Zermatt in Switzerland, Oberammergau in Germany, Quebec in Canada, and so many more.

The Hill Country is one of my favorite places to visit. It’s about a 4-5 hour drive from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where I live so I’ve that trip many times. I love all the small towns and the beautiful scenery…Fredericksburg, Wemberly, San Marcos. My favorite is New Braunfels. My aunt and two of my cousins live there so I always have a place to stay. I can’t wait to read your book!